People Change People
by jellybean96
Summary: Texas-Lucas almost comes out when one of his friends is being harassed. There's only one person who can talk him down.


**Hey babes! I'm new to writing for the GMW fandom, but I love Lucaya (they deserved better) and when my sister talked about this story idea I knew I wanted to write it. So I did. She seems to think I got the characterization pretty spot on, so I hope you all think so as well.**

 **In this story, they're in their junior year of high school, so a few things have changed.**

 **My younger sister helped me come up with the title for this story.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey, Huckleberry," Maya greets the tall blonde as she drops down next to him on the couch at Topanga's, tossing her feet onto the coffee table in front of her and letting her backpack fall to the carpeted floor.

Lucas looks up from his open textbook and smiles at her. "Hey. You good?"

She nods. "Yeah. Want a smoothie? Your treat."

Lucas' smile grows a little in amusement. "My treat? Oh, how very generous of you."

She smiles and shrugs. "I'm known to be like that sometimes. Very rarely, but it still happens."

Lucas chuckles and reaches down into the front pocket of his backpack to pull out his wallet. He takes a few bills out of the sleeve and hands them over to Maya. "Here."

Maya grins and plucks the money out of his outstretched hand, standing up from the couch. "Thanks, Ranger Rick. I'll be right back." She turns and walks away to the counter, leaving Lucas chuckling quietly to himself and shaking his head as he returns his attention to his science textbook.

A few minutes later, his eyes glance up as a pink smoothie is held right in front of his face. "Maya," he says slowly with a small smile. "Why are you holding that so close to my face?" He looks up to find the blonde haired girl sitting back down next to him, moving the drink away from his face.

She shrugs. "You weren't answering me." She sets his drink down on the coffee table and leans back into the couch, bringing the straw of her own drink to her lips. She swallows. "What's so interesting in that book, anyways?"

"It's the textbook for my science class," he tells her. "You know how I want to be a veterinarian, so I kind of need to know all the science that I can in order to do that."

"But that stuff's so boring and complicated."

Lucas chuckles quietly. "I know. You still fall asleep in science class. But that _stuff_ is how I'm going to make a living one day to support my future family."

"That's why I'm going to have a career in something that doesn't require so much studying of boring stuff."

"Well I wish you the best of luck in that," he says genuinely. "I'm sure whatever you choose to do with your life, you'll be great at it."

Maya ducks her head and then looks back up, giving him a small smile. "Thanks, Huckleberry."

He smiles back. "Anytime."

Maya shifts on the couch and take another long swig from her smoothie. She swallows and nods at Lucas. "What are you currently reading about?" she asks him.

"I thought you didn't care about this stuff," he responds, reaching for his smoothie and taking a drink.

She shrugs. "You seem to like it well enough; maybe you can make it seem less boring when you talk about it."

"I can definitely try."

"Good. But before you do, how are things between you and Riley? Still all weird and uncomfortably awkward whenever you're alone in a room together?"

Lucas sighs. "Unfortunately, yes."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Maya says. "So you two broke up; that was almost seven months ago, and it was a mutual thing, no hard feelings between you. I think the two of you are making it more awkward than it needs to be."

"It's easy when we're all together," he explains. "But whenever we're alone, we just don't know how to act around each other again. Riley's one of my best friends, I miss being able to just talk to her." He sighs and shakes his head. "I never should have started dating Riley. Things don't usually end well when you date one of your friends. Never again."

Maya's tiny hint of a smile falters. "Yeah. Never again. Definitely. Don't blame you there at all." She takes a deep breath. "So, I'm in need of a nap right about now and I think whatever is in that precious textbook of yours is the perfect thing to do the trick." She shifts on the couch until she's lying with her head on the arm rest and her feet up in his lap. She lets out a content sigh and then makes a waving gesture with her hand. "You may read."

Lucas chuckles and looks down at his book, beginning to read aloud where he left off in his studies, the blonde beauty next to him quickly succumbing to sleep, her smoothie long forgotten.

* * *

"Farkle, why the hell are you wearing sunglasses right now?" Maya asks the other teen as she approaches the group of friends hanging together outside the front of the high school. "There's no sun out, so there's no need for sunglasses." She tosses her backpack haphazardly into Lucas' lap as she sits down on the lawn.

Lucas just sighs and moves Maya's backpack into her own lap, earning a confused look from the other blonde. "My lap is not a holder for your backpack, Maya."

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, relax, Huckleberry, it won't hurt you. I promise I don't have any weapons in there. Today." She smiles slyly.

Lucas groans. "Maya."

Maya laughs and turns back to Farkle. "Seriously, dude, what's with the sunglasses?"

"Nothing," Farkle says.

Maya smiles. "Did you secretly get drunk without telling us first and now have a hangover? I'm both very offended and extremely proud."

"I'm not hungover," Farkle defends himself. "I just felt like wearing sunglasses today, that's all."

"You never wear sunglasses, Farkle," Lucas comments. "That's not you."

He shrugs. "Maybe I'm trying something new."

"As long as we don't have to live through the whole Donny Barnes identity crisis thing again, I'm good," Maya remarks.

"Well I think Farkle can wear whatever he wants to wear," Riley speaks up. "This is the time for us to figure out who we are, right?"

"Chill, Riley, it's just a pair of sunglasses," Maya tells the brunette with a small laugh. "I really don't think it's cause for one of your grand speeches."

"You guys, I'm fine," Farkle tells his friends earnestly. "I promise. It's nothing any of you need to worry about."

"You'd tell us if something was going on, though, right?" Riley asks the boy.

He smiles softly at the brunette. "Of course I would, Riley. But I promise you nothing is wrong, I just wanted to try something new, see if I pull it off."

She smiles back at him. "Well I think you look really nice."

"As do I, honey," Smackle tells him, placing a hand gently on his arm.

"And I think you look ridiculous," Maya tells him jokingly. "Now take those off."

Farkle sighs and removes the glasses from his face, folding the arms and setting them in front of him and looks down. "Guess I'm not much of a sunglasses guy, am I?"

Maya shakes her head. "No you are not. But I think I know someone who is." She smiles mischievously before leaning forward and snatching up the sunglasses.

Lucas groans and shakes his head, leaning away from the blonde as best he can. "Maya, please, no..." He lets out a sigh when Maya manages to secure the sunglasses on his face.

"Aww, you look so good, Huckleberry," she says with a smile. "But you need more broodiness if you're really going to pull it off."

"Gee, thanks for the tip," he says, pulling the glasses off his face. "I'll try and remember that."

"You better. Now where's Zay? Don't you two have practice today after school?"

"He's back in Texas for a few days for a family thing," Lucas explains. "Coach said it's fine."

"Wait," Riley speaks up. "Farkle, look at me."

Farkle sighs and slowly raises his head, looking over at the brunette.

Riley gasps at seeing the purple bruise around Farkle's left eye. "Oh my goodness, Farkle what happened? Why do you have a black eye? How did you get a black eye?"

"I just ran into a door," he explains.

"Farkle, I've seen plenty of black eyes before, and that's a black eye," Lucas tells the boy. His jaw hardens. "Who did that to you?"

"You guys, I'm fine. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal, Farkle," Maya insists. "Somebody hit you, that is not okay."

"Please, you guys, just leave it alone," he pleads. "Okay?"

Riley sighs. "Fine, we'll let this go. For now. But if something happens again, Farkle, we're going to do something about. Right, you guys?" she asks, looking at Maya, Lucas, and Smackle.

The three nod their heads in agreement.

* * *

"It was one of the most incredible experiences in my entire life," Riley says with a wide smile on her face, explaining something to the group as they make their way through the hall of the high school.

"I'm sure it was, Riles," Maya says to her friend, snickering quietly in amusement.

"It really was, Peaches," Riley insists. "One of the greatest moments of my entire existence."

"Well I think it sounds great, Riley," Farkle speaks up with a small smile. "You should always try and find the—" Farkle's words are cut short as he's knocked into from behind, stumbling forward.

"Watch where you're going, idiot."

Farkle stares after the boy before looking down and away, turning his body away from his friends.

"Farkle," Smackle speaks up, "why did that boy call you an idiot? You are far from that."

"Wait, is he the one who hit you the other day?" Maya asks with eyes wide in realization.

Farkle stays silent, confirming all that the friends need to know.

"Hey!" Lucas shouts angrily at the football player walking away from them.

The boy in question turns around, looks directly at him, and smirks. "What do you want, Friar?"

He drops his backpack and roughly shrugs out of his letterman's jacket, focusing on the slightly taller teen in front of him. "I want you to apologize."

"For what? Your dorky friend was in my way."

Lucas takes a few steps closer to the other jock. "We both know you could have gone around or asked him to move. Apologize. Now."

The other boys' face hardens. "And what if I don't? Are you gonna make me?"

Lucas nods sharply, his own jaw hard. "Yeah. I just might. And you really don't want me to."

"No, I think I do. I'd like to see you try and knock me down, Friar. Right here, right now."

Lucas goes to take another step when a mop of brown enters his vision. He looks down to see Riley standing between him and the bully, soft concern written on her face. "Riley, move out of my way."

She shakes her head. "No, Lucas. You shouldn't do this. It isn't right."

"This kid thinks he can just pick on others who might be smaller than him because he's at the top of the food chain here. Somebody needs to knock him down a few pegs."

"That's not the way this should be handled, Lucas. I know you know that."

"Yeah, Lucas, that's not the way this should be handled," the other boy taunts.

Lucas goes to step forward again, only to remember Riley standing in front of him. "Riley, move. I don't want to hurt you."

"I may not be your girlfriend anymore, Lucas, but I'm still your friend. And I don't want to see you go down this path."

"Then leave," he says. "Because I'm not letting this guy get away with harassing my friends."

Riley sighs and moves out of the way, stepping back over to where Maya, Farkle, and Smackle are standing. "I thought I could get through to him," she says sadly. "But I don't think he wants to listen to reason right now."

The four friends watch as Lucas stares down the older boy, his hands already clenching into fists and his breathing heavy.

"Lucas."

The soft calling out of his name and the small patch of warmth on his arm draws his attention to see the blonde girl belonging to the voice standing right next to him, one of her hands resting gently on his bicep.

His body relaxes some, his fists unclench, and he breathes out. "Maya."

"Please don't do something you'll regret," she pleads softly. "I don't blame you for wanting to hit him, believe me, I want to hit him too. But we both know this isn't the right way. You've grown so much, Lucas, don't let this one, stupid, high school jock ruin all of that for you."

"Am I supposed to just let him get away with messing with Farkle?" he asks her.

Maya shakes her head. "Of course not. But this isn't how you do things anymore. Especially not in the middle of the school hallway where everyone can see." She glances around to see the large crowd of students that has gathered around them.

"You better listen to your little girlfriend there, Friar," the boy teases with a snicker.

Lucas turns on the boy, ready to pounce when Maya's grip on his arm tightens. "Lucas, don't. He's not worth it," she spits out with a glare at the boy.

Lucas breathes in deeply and unclenches his fists. "Get out of my sight," he bites.

The other boy chuckles and slowly starts backing away. "See you out on the field, Friar."

Maya glares after the boy and then looks at Lucas, handing him his backpack and jacket from off of the floor. "Come on, Huckleberry," she says with a tiny smile. "Let's get to class."

.

.

.

"So, earlier was kind of intense," Maya comments, sitting down next to Lucas on one of the benches outside of the school during their free period at that end of the day. "Were you really going to hit him if I didn't convince you to stop?"

Lucas sighs. "I think so, yeah. We're on the football team together and he's been getting on my nerves since day one. He thinks he owns the place just because he's a good football player and has scouts looking at him all the time. It's people like that that really bug me."

"Well I'm just glad you changed your mind. I'd rather not have you get kicked out of school for getting into a fight."

"Is that you admitting you would miss me?" he asks with a teasing smile.

Maya scoffs. "No, absolutely not. But if you were gone, then who else would I call Huckleberry on a daily basis and tease during class? You're an easy target, Ranger Rick. You can't go."

"Well I definitely don't plan on it," he assures her.

Maya nods once. "Good." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, now that that's all settled, I think that we should—"

"Thank you, Maya," Lucas cuts her off.

Maya's brows furrow. "What?"

"Thank you," he repeats. "For talking me down from hitting that guy."

Maya shrugs and brushes a loose piece of hair back behind her ear. "I was just doing what any friend would," she tells him.

"Riley's my friend too," he says. "And she wasn't able to talk me down."

"Maybe she just put a crack in everything that let me help you break through."

Lucas shakes his head. "No, I don't think so. There's something about you, Maya. Something…different."

"Different how?" she asks.

"I don't know. I just…I like who I am when I'm with you. You make me a better person."

"We make each other better people," she says. "People change people, remember?"

He nods. "Yeah. But it's different with you and me."

"How so?" she asks.

He furrows his brows. "I'm not sure. But I know that I like it."

Things are quiet for a moment before Maya speaks up, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course."

Maya shifts in her seat. "When he made a comment about me being your girlfriend, why did you react by almost jumping on him?"

Lucas shrugs. "I don't really know."

"Is it really that crazy of a thought to think of me as your girlfriend?"

Lucas shakes his head. "No, absolutely not. I guess I just didn't like the way he said it." He turns to face her and takes a deep breath, reaching out to grab one of her hands in both of his. "I really care about you, Maya."

"I—I care about you too."

Lucas gives her a small smile and then slowly leans forward, his face just inches away from hers.

Maya's breath catches in her throat with realization of what's about to happen. "We can't, Lucas," she says quietly. "Riley…"

"Hasn't been my girlfriend for almost seven months," he replies. "You said so yourself."

"But it wouldn't be right," she insists. "I can't do that to my best friend."

"You're always thinking about what's best for Riley," he tells her. "You're a great friend because of that, but it's time you start thinking about yourself every once in a while, and what's best for you, and what you want out of life. What do you want, Maya?"

Maya swallows thickly. "I want—I want to be with you," she whispers.

Lucas' smile widens and he leans forward the rest of the way, closing the distance between them and sealing his lips over hers, sliding his fingers on one hand into her hair.

Maya responds to the kiss, cupping the back of his head in her hand as she sits up straight and moves closer to him, deepening the kiss.

"Wow," Maya says after pulling back. "That was..."

"Amazing?" Lucas finishes.

Maya smiles and nods. "Yeah, something like that."

Lucas takes a deep breath. "Maya Penelope Hunter, would you go out on a date with me?" he asks her nervously.

Maya bites her bottom lip between her teeth as she smiles and nods her head. "Yeah."

Lucas' face breaks out into a smile. "I'll pick you up tonight at eight. Wear something comfortable." He leans forward to quickly peck her lips before standing from the bench and grabbing his backpack, slowly backing away from her with a smile. "You won't regret this, Maya, I promise."

"I better not, Huckleberry," she calls after his retreating form, watching as he walks away, a small smile on her lips and a glint of something akin to hopefulness in her eyes.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Maya asks Lucas as they stand together outside of the school building a few days later. "I mean, people are going to start talking."

"Let them talk," he says, wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her close. Maya's hands rest on his chest. "I don't care if people know about us, Maya. I like you, and I want people to know that."

Maya looks up at him and gives him a soft smile. "I like you too. I'm just…I've never done this before," she says, gesturing between them.

He nods his head. "I know. But it's been a few days, I think we've had enough time to ourselves to figure things out. We can't hide anymore."

"I wasn't hiding," she tells him. "I'm just not a big fan of everybody knowing what's going on in my life. In case you forgot, Huckleberry, I'm not a very open person."

"No, I haven't forgotten. I promise we won't do more than you're comfortable with when we're in public."

She smiles up at him. "Good, thank you." She rises onto her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. "I think holding hands and quick kisses is all I can handle. For now," she says with a small wink.

Lucas holds her a little closer. "Sounds good to me."

"Well look at what we have here."

Maya and Lucas turn their heads to see Zay approaching them, his arms crossed over his chest and a wide smile on his face.

"Hey, Zay," Lucas greets his best friend.

"Don't you 'Hey Zay' me. What exactly is going on here?" he asks, gesturing to the two of them.

Lucas glances down at the short blonde in front of him before looking back at Zay. "Uh, Maya and I are dating."

Zay grins and uncrosses his arms. "Well it's about damn time. I was wondering when the two of you'd get your act together. I always knew you two had something. Huckleberry and his Blonde Beauty," he says with a pleasant sigh.

Lucas groans. "Zay."

Maya grins up at him. "I can't believe I forgot about that. You called me a blonde beauty when we were in middle school. You always knew deep down, didn't you?"

Lucas smiles and nods. "Yeah, I guess I did. I just wish I'd figured it out sooner. We could have been doing this a whole lot longer if I had." He dips his head and presses a quick kiss to her lips.

Maya smiles against his lips. "Mm. I wish you had too. Because I think kissing you has become my new favorite thing."

"Oh man," Zay whines. "Is it gonna be like this all the time now between you two? Because if it is then I'm gonna need some fair warning the next time you two decide to—seriously?" He throws his hands up in defeat at the sight of Lucas and Maya locking lips again. "Unbelievable."

* * *

 **So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.**

 **No promises that I'll write more for Lucaya or GMW, but if I come up with something, I just might. :)**

 **Until next time,  
Jellybean96 out!**


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